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About David B. Wolf

David Wolf is an experienced trial lawyer and counselor in the fields of intellectual property, publishing, visual arts, and general business transactions.

David has been a partner at major New York law firms and Litigation Counsel/Associate General Counsel at Time Inc. He has litigated and won a number of notable lawsuits in his areas of practice and has counseled and advised individuals and companies on copyright, publishing, litigation, and transactional issues.

David is the former Chair of the NYC Bar Copyright & Literary Property Committee and has taught copyright litigation at Fordham Law School. He was named a New York Super Lawyer in the years 2007 to 2023.

He has a B.A. magna cum laude from Yale College, a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was elected to the Law Review, and a graduate law degree from New York University Law School. Prior to law school, David attended Yale Graduate School and earned an M. Phil. in Comparative Literature.

David is admitted to practice in New York and in Connecticut. His office is located at One Grand Central Place in mid-town Manhattan, near Grand Central Station.

NATURE OF PRACTICE:

Copyright, Publishing, Litigation, General Business Transactions

STATE BAR ADMISSIONS:

New York, 1975
Connecticut, 2009

EDUCATION:

B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Yale College, 1967. Major: History, the Arts, and Letters

M.Phil. (comparative literature), Yale University, 1971

J.D., University of Pennsylvania Law School, 1974; Associate Editor, University of Pennsylvania Law Review

L.L.M. (Trade Regulation), New York University School of Law, 1996

PRIOR LEGAL POSITIONS:

Coudert Brothers, New York (Associate, 1974-79)

Walter Conston Alexander & Green, P.C., New York (Partner, 1982-94)

Time Inc., New York (Litigation Counsel/Associate General Counsel, 1994-98)

Cavallo Wolff & Wolf, New York (Partner, 1999)

Cowan DeBaets Abrahams & Sheppard, LLP, New York (Partner 2000-11)

TEACHING:

Fordham University School of Law, Adjunct Professor of Law (Copyright Litigation)

BAR ASSOCIATION:

Chair, Committee on Copyright and Literary Property, Association of the Bar of the City of New York (1998-2001)

RECOGNITIONS:

AV Preeminent Rating
Super Lawyers, New York Metro Edition, 2007-10, 2012-23
Super Lawyers, Business Edition, 2011

SELECTED NOTABLE CASES:

Barbara Keiler et al. v. Harlequin Enterprises Limited et al., 12 Civ. 5558(WHP) – co-lead counsel in this literary property class action against the publisher on behalf of Harlequin authors, in which a court-approved settlement was reached in 2016 after litigation in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Peter Lampack Agency, Inc. v. Martha Grimes, Penguin Group, 29 Misc. 3d 1208A (Sup. Ct. N.Y. Co. 2010), aff’d 93 A.D.3d 430 (1st Dept. 2012)– won decision in New York Supreme Court for bestselling author Martha Grimes in an important case interpreting agency and option clauses in book publishing agreements, affirmed by the New York Appellate Division, First Department.

Irene Halsman et al. v. Howard Greenberg Gallery (American Arbitration Association, New York, 2009) – won arbitration award of over $1 million on behalf of the heirs of the photographer Philippe Halsman against gallery for loss of photographs of Salvador Dali.

De la Torre Bueno v. Dance Perspectives Foundation, Inc., 71 U.S.P.Q. 2d 1951 (S.D.N.Y. 2004) – won jury trial for the plaintiff in a case in U.S. District Court in Manhattan involving the unauthorized use of a family name in a prestigious dance scholarship award, and obtained a permanent injunction, compensatory and punitive damages, and attorney’s fees.

Random House, Inc., v. Rosetta Books, 156 F. Supp. 2d 613 (S.D.N.Y. 2001), aff’d, 283 F. 3d 490 (2d Cir. 2002) – represented amici curiae the Authors Guild, Inc. and Association of Authors’ Representatives, Inc. on the winning side of a test case in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on the control of e-book rights.

Al Hirschfeld v. Margo Feiden Galleries Ltd., Index No. 602067/00 (July 2000) (Justice Cahn) – obtained a preliminary injunction representing the artist Al Hirschfeld in a case in New York Supreme Court for breach of an art consignment agreement.

Jordan v. Time Inc., 111 F.3d 102 (11th Cir. 1997) – won jury trial for Sports Illustrated in copyright infringement case in U.S. District Court in Miami, and on appeal to the Eleventh Circuit obtained an important decision on the award of attorney’s fees arising from service of an offer of judgment.

Mason v. Montgomery Data, Inc., 967 F.2d 135 (5th Cir. 1992) – represented amici curiae Rand McNally, Inc., Hammond Maps, and Hagstrom Maps on the winning side of an important case dealing with the copyright protection of maps.

PRO BONO:

Counsel, W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund, Inc. (2002-Present), a non-profit qualified under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and awarding the W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography since 1980.

PUBLICATIONS:

“Is There Any Copyright Protection for Maps After Feist?,” 39 Journal of the Copyright Society 224 (1992), quoted in Mason v. Montgomery Data, Inc., 967 F.2d 135 (5th Cir. 1992).

“New Landscape in the Copyright Protection for Maps: Mason v. Montgomery Data, Inc.,” 40 Journal of the Copyright Society 401 (1993).

“Effective Protection Against Unfair Competition Under Section 44 of the Lanham Act,” 82 Trademark Reporter 33 (1992).

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